A problem with many contemporary musical robotic percussion systems lies in the fact that solenoids fail to respond lin-early to linear increases in input velocity. This nonlinearity forces performers to individually tailor their compositions to specific robotic drummers. To address this problem, we introduce a method of pre-performance calibration using metaheuristic search techniques. A variety of such techniques are introduced and evaluated and the results of the optimized solenoid-based

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... ussion systems are presented and compared with output from non-calibrated systems.